East Providence High School
9th Grade Physics First and 11th/12th Grade Anatomy Class Observation:
The first class I saw was the Anatomy class and they were working on a tissue lab. They had to observe
and draw two samples of each kind of tissue. They had one microscope per four students
and enough slides to keep everyone busy. I watched the students as the teacher walked around and
helped out different groups. Much to my surprise the students stayed on task pretty well. Occasionally
he would have to look up and tell groups to stay on task but for the most part they kept right on working.
He said that this class doesn't have many problems. Its an honors class that likes to learn and work.
The big thing according to him is keeping two young men in the class focused. He said as you lose
them you lose the class.
As for the ninth grade physics course it was a different story. They were good kids but needed a lot
of motivation. They had a test next class so they were playing a game to review. The game had five
and the teacher would go around and ask each team a question. The students who weren't participating
in the game at that point were suppose to be paying attention because they could benefit from the
questions. The problem was they weren't paying attention. They had their heads on the tables or were
out in space somewhere. At one point I thought one kid was totally ignoring the teacher. I came to
find out later he doesn't speak any English. The only thing that kept the kids somewhat intrigued
and interested was they got to shoot a foam basketball for an extra point. Reflection:
In both cases its hard to keep kids motivated and on task because there is so much down time in the
physics class and in the anatomy class its easy to be distracted. In the case of the anatomy class
I think that incentives could be a good way to keep the students on task. If they received an extra five points
if they finished the lab in one class period they might try harder to get more done. The kids in this class are
hard workers and care a lot about their grades so incentives like this one work. In the physics class the kids
are not as concerned with grades so another approach is necessary. I feel like if the game was altered to
smaller teams and have every team answer all the questions it would make all the students stay involved.
9th Grade Physics First and 11th/12th Grade Anatomy Class
Observation:
The first class I saw was the Anatomy class and they were working on a tissue lab. They had to observe
and draw two samples of each kind of tissue. They had one microscope per four students
and enough slides to keep everyone busy. I watched the students as the teacher walked around and
helped out different groups. Much to my surprise the students stayed on task pretty well. Occasionally
he would have to look up and tell groups to stay on task but for the most part they kept right on working.
He said that this class doesn't have many problems. Its an honors class that likes to learn and work.
The big thing according to him is keeping two young men in the class focused. He said as you lose
them you lose the class.
As for the ninth grade physics course it was a different story. They were good kids but needed a lot
of motivation. They had a test next class so they were playing a game to review. The game had five
and the teacher would go around and ask each team a question. The students who weren't participating
in the game at that point were suppose to be paying attention because they could benefit from the
questions. The problem was they weren't paying attention. They had their heads on the tables or were
out in space somewhere. At one point I thought one kid was totally ignoring the teacher. I came to
find out later he doesn't speak any English. The only thing that kept the kids somewhat intrigued
and interested was they got to shoot a foam basketball for an extra point.
Reflection:
In both cases its hard to keep kids motivated and on task because there is so much down time in the
physics class and in the anatomy class its easy to be distracted. In the case of the anatomy class
I think that incentives could be a good way to keep the students on task. If they received an extra five points
if they finished the lab in one class period they might try harder to get more done. The kids in this class are
hard workers and care a lot about their grades so incentives like this one work. In the physics class the kids
are not as concerned with grades so another approach is necessary. I feel like if the game was altered to
smaller teams and have every team answer all the questions it would make all the students stay involved.